The boys have started sleeping outside with the animals. And before you even ask... NO, we are not making them. They are doing it of their own volition. They sleep on a tarp and a sleeping bag on the ground and some of the animals sleep with them.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sleeping outside
The boys have started sleeping outside with the animals. And before you even ask... NO, we are not making them. They are doing it of their own volition. They sleep on a tarp and a sleeping bag on the ground and some of the animals sleep with them.
Monday, September 15, 2008
I Did It
The ranch is now 7 roosters lighter. The boys and I did it ourselves today. I was able to cut the heads off okay. The boys need to get faster at plucking though. We lost the last few roos to dog food. They were getting so dried out from being dead when I tried to eviscerate them the smallest knick and they leaked out yucky stuff and soiled the meat. Oh well, at least they won't go to waste.
I was going to do the ducks today also, but couldn't do it. I had a few chicken heads that didn't come off clean enough. I think the butcher knife needs sharpened and I didn't want to risk it with the ducks. And honestly, duck feet kind of freak me out with the claws at the end of them and all. They will just have to wait for Stef.
I was going to do the ducks today also, but couldn't do it. I had a few chicken heads that didn't come off clean enough. I think the butcher knife needs sharpened and I didn't want to risk it with the ducks. And honestly, duck feet kind of freak me out with the claws at the end of them and all. They will just have to wait for Stef.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
More Dogs...
...than goats now! I am very happy today. I put an ad in Craigslist for the remaining goats and someone came to look at them today. He told me they were going to use the girls for breeding and possibly milking. I was very happy because I didn't want Frosty turned into a taco. He only took the boys because they were such a good price. Well he showed up with his wife and their 4 young children and I was beside myself knowing all of the goats are going to a happy in their new home. YEAH!!
We are thinking about getting a couple of pigs to put in the old buck's pen. J.D. needs someone to protect now that the boys are gone. He gets too nervous around all the other animals and dogs.
Stef also finished getting electricity to the barn today. Now we don't have to go to the shed to turn the light on in the barn anymore. We can also put a radio in the barn now.
So, yes we have 4 Great Pyrenees and only 3 goats. Next week we will be getting another Alpine doe that is already in milk and don't forget about the pigs! So we will start evening out a little bit!
We are thinking about getting a couple of pigs to put in the old buck's pen. J.D. needs someone to protect now that the boys are gone. He gets too nervous around all the other animals and dogs.
Stef also finished getting electricity to the barn today. Now we don't have to go to the shed to turn the light on in the barn anymore. We can also put a radio in the barn now.
So, yes we have 4 Great Pyrenees and only 3 goats. Next week we will be getting another Alpine doe that is already in milk and don't forget about the pigs! So we will start evening out a little bit!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Some goats are gone....
...more to go tomorrow. Our neighbors took Big Mama, Elvis and the kids today. They also took Taco. Everyone seems very happy in their new home.
Tomorrow some people are coming out to take a look at the Nubians for sale. I hope they take them because they are going to try and breed Frosty and try to milk her again. At least they will give her a chance and not just turn her into tacos right away! WE will see how it goes.
Right now I have Lil' Bit in with the Nubian Bucklings. I'm trying to get her bred to one of them before they leave.
Tomorrow some people are coming out to take a look at the Nubians for sale. I hope they take them because they are going to try and breed Frosty and try to milk her again. At least they will give her a chance and not just turn her into tacos right away! WE will see how it goes.
Right now I have Lil' Bit in with the Nubian Bucklings. I'm trying to get her bred to one of them before they leave.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Bye, Bye, Goaties
Edwin, our neighbor, and a dad of the boys' friends will be taking 4 of our goats this weekend. They are taking our Boer goats, Big Mama, Elvis, Sissy, and Dekley. They are also buying one of the puppies, Taco.
Now I can take pictures of the rest of them and put them for sale on Craigslist. We are only keeping 3 does and one buck. We are keeping Holly, Lil Bit, Flower and Rocky. So that means I am going to try to sell Trouble, Alvin, Tipsy, and Frosty. I am so torn on what to do with Frosty. She has become such a pet goat, always looking to be loved on. I don't want to keep her and have her get mastitis again. I can't put anymore money into her. Plus, her daughter, Tipsy has fish teats, and I don't want to feed her through the winter and her give me more does with messed up teats. I might see if I can give her to someone willing to give her a chance and not eat her. Actually, if I decide to do that, I bet Edwin would take her.
After, or probably while, I am rehoming these goats, I am looking to acquire 2 new ones. I am looking at a new Alpine buck. Fran and I are going to take a field trip to His Fruitfulness Farm to look at a couple of registered bucks. I am also looking for another registered Alpine doe.
Then we will breed Rocky to Lil Bit, and the Alpine buck to Holly, Flower, and the other new goat.
Now I can take pictures of the rest of them and put them for sale on Craigslist. We are only keeping 3 does and one buck. We are keeping Holly, Lil Bit, Flower and Rocky. So that means I am going to try to sell Trouble, Alvin, Tipsy, and Frosty. I am so torn on what to do with Frosty. She has become such a pet goat, always looking to be loved on. I don't want to keep her and have her get mastitis again. I can't put anymore money into her. Plus, her daughter, Tipsy has fish teats, and I don't want to feed her through the winter and her give me more does with messed up teats. I might see if I can give her to someone willing to give her a chance and not eat her. Actually, if I decide to do that, I bet Edwin would take her.
After, or probably while, I am rehoming these goats, I am looking to acquire 2 new ones. I am looking at a new Alpine buck. Fran and I are going to take a field trip to His Fruitfulness Farm to look at a couple of registered bucks. I am also looking for another registered Alpine doe.
Then we will breed Rocky to Lil Bit, and the Alpine buck to Holly, Flower, and the other new goat.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Garden Update
Yesterday Stef took the boys out to the garden and fixed it. He put new gates, set up the drip hose, watered all of the still living plants and fixed the plastic. I haven't gone out to look yet so this is all still hearsay but I am feeling a bit better about this subject.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Gelato
Forget about ice cream. We have discovered Gelato! We were watching the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network about gelato. It looked so good I searched for a recipe and found this one from Cooks.com
CHOCOLATE GELATO
4 egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
2 c. milk
3 1/2 o. bitter sweet chocolate
1 1/2 oz. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
In a bowl beat yolks, gradually add sugar. Beat until creamy and pale yellow. In saucepan bring milk to boil, remove, slowly pour yolk mixture, stirring constantly and quickly. Melt chocolate in double boiler until smooth and satiny. Stir. Pour into custard mixture. Add cocoa powder; mix. Pour into large saucepan, medium heat. DO NOT BOIL. Stir until thick and coats spoon. Heat 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 tablespoons water until dark brown and caramel colored. Add to custard. Pour in clean bowl. Chill. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions. Serves 6.
It is not as simple to make as it sounds. I think I used up every bowl in the kitchen, but it was definitely worth it. I found out too late I didn't have the bitter sweet chocolate and it still tastes fantastic. Niko says it is better than store bought ice cream, Deklan thinks it is about the same.
CHOCOLATE GELATO
4 egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
2 c. milk
3 1/2 o. bitter sweet chocolate
1 1/2 oz. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
In a bowl beat yolks, gradually add sugar. Beat until creamy and pale yellow. In saucepan bring milk to boil, remove, slowly pour yolk mixture, stirring constantly and quickly. Melt chocolate in double boiler until smooth and satiny. Stir. Pour into custard mixture. Add cocoa powder; mix. Pour into large saucepan, medium heat. DO NOT BOIL. Stir until thick and coats spoon. Heat 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 tablespoons water until dark brown and caramel colored. Add to custard. Pour in clean bowl. Chill. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions. Serves 6.
It is not as simple to make as it sounds. I think I used up every bowl in the kitchen, but it was definitely worth it. I found out too late I didn't have the bitter sweet chocolate and it still tastes fantastic. Niko says it is better than store bought ice cream, Deklan thinks it is about the same.
A Rant
I give up, I give up, I give up!
I can't even begin to do justice to the feelings of helplessness overwhelming me this morning.
You all know I have been struggling with the garden. The spring garden was first pillaged by the chickens. We put a temporary, flimsy fence around it to keep goats and chickens alike out. The fence didn't even have a real door, we had to disassemble the fence a bit to get in and out. To keep the goats off the fence we surrounded it with hot wire. It didn't take long to figure out the garden was not going to recuperate in the Texas heat of July and August so I took the hot wire down and opened the fence up for the goats to clear the rest of the garden and get rid of some of the weeds. Well, in this process the goats managed to tear up the fence around the garden.
A week ago I decided it couldn't be put off any longer; I needed to get the fall garden put in. I fixed up the fence with the help of Stef and hooked up the hot wire. I was completely stumped with what to do about all of the weeds in the garden area though. The goats had eaten them down but without the goats they would come back. Let me tell you, these are not just ordinary weeds. These are stickers or sand burrs or weeds from the very depths of hell, whichever you prefer. You simply cannot just pull them up. They grow a foot a day. If you till them they still come back. So after telling Stef then that I give up on the garden and then him telling me I couldn't, I decided to just cover the entire garden with plastic. Clear plastic for any spot that was not growing garden produce and black landscape fabric for where plants would be. Not pretty and I really don't know how practical or even long term it is but I did it. Then I went to the nursery and got plants. Tomatoes, green peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli, and my favorite red peppers (I really had to hunt these down). Stef and I got the fence really patched up and I finally get my garden in. Planting in the plastic was not easy. I start watering everything and found that the landscape fabric that is suppose to be water permeable, isn't. At least not enough to water from the top. Ok, fine. I say once again to Stef it is not worth it, I GIVE UP. He said no. He would go out and put down the drip tape underneath the fabric. While he was at it he also put a real door in the fence for easy in and out. Ok,fine.
This morning, after chores, I went for a little peak at the garden....I give up, I give up, I give up.
The new door Stef put on the garden fence apparently didn't have a lock, and the hot wire was apparently not put back up around the fence after installation of said door. The goats had been in the garden. Little tell tale goat berries lay everywhere. Good news is they don't like eggplant (just pulled them up by the stem and left them on the ground)and they also left most of the cucumbers and tomatoes alone. Bad news they do like greens, and broccoli and cabbage and they LOVE pepper plants. Especially, apparently, red peppers. Not one is left.
I can't keep putting this much effort, not to mention cash, into the garden for it to get ruined. I'm not sure what we will do now. I guess I will just be an even more frequent buyer at the farmer's market. Better my time and money go there than into the stomachs of any 2 or 4 legged fiends around here.
I can't even begin to do justice to the feelings of helplessness overwhelming me this morning.
You all know I have been struggling with the garden. The spring garden was first pillaged by the chickens. We put a temporary, flimsy fence around it to keep goats and chickens alike out. The fence didn't even have a real door, we had to disassemble the fence a bit to get in and out. To keep the goats off the fence we surrounded it with hot wire. It didn't take long to figure out the garden was not going to recuperate in the Texas heat of July and August so I took the hot wire down and opened the fence up for the goats to clear the rest of the garden and get rid of some of the weeds. Well, in this process the goats managed to tear up the fence around the garden.
A week ago I decided it couldn't be put off any longer; I needed to get the fall garden put in. I fixed up the fence with the help of Stef and hooked up the hot wire. I was completely stumped with what to do about all of the weeds in the garden area though. The goats had eaten them down but without the goats they would come back. Let me tell you, these are not just ordinary weeds. These are stickers or sand burrs or weeds from the very depths of hell, whichever you prefer. You simply cannot just pull them up. They grow a foot a day. If you till them they still come back. So after telling Stef then that I give up on the garden and then him telling me I couldn't, I decided to just cover the entire garden with plastic. Clear plastic for any spot that was not growing garden produce and black landscape fabric for where plants would be. Not pretty and I really don't know how practical or even long term it is but I did it. Then I went to the nursery and got plants. Tomatoes, green peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli, and my favorite red peppers (I really had to hunt these down). Stef and I got the fence really patched up and I finally get my garden in. Planting in the plastic was not easy. I start watering everything and found that the landscape fabric that is suppose to be water permeable, isn't. At least not enough to water from the top. Ok, fine. I say once again to Stef it is not worth it, I GIVE UP. He said no. He would go out and put down the drip tape underneath the fabric. While he was at it he also put a real door in the fence for easy in and out. Ok,fine.
This morning, after chores, I went for a little peak at the garden....I give up, I give up, I give up.
The new door Stef put on the garden fence apparently didn't have a lock, and the hot wire was apparently not put back up around the fence after installation of said door. The goats had been in the garden. Little tell tale goat berries lay everywhere. Good news is they don't like eggplant (just pulled them up by the stem and left them on the ground)and they also left most of the cucumbers and tomatoes alone. Bad news they do like greens, and broccoli and cabbage and they LOVE pepper plants. Especially, apparently, red peppers. Not one is left.
I can't keep putting this much effort, not to mention cash, into the garden for it to get ruined. I'm not sure what we will do now. I guess I will just be an even more frequent buyer at the farmer's market. Better my time and money go there than into the stomachs of any 2 or 4 legged fiends around here.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Crazy Chickens or Crazy Goat?
Why do the chickens think it is more comfortable to sit on a goat's back than on the ground? Usually Awkward, the chicken, is sitting on Lil Bits back. I saw this and went in to get my camera and when I came back they were on Big Momma's back. It's not like they just sit up there for a second and get down either. They hunker down and stay on for quite awhile.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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